By: Raphaël Lessard Racing
June 30 2019 

NASCAR Pinty's Budweiser 300 - | NASCAR Late Model’s Kennebec Triple Crown

Vallée-Jonction, Quebec – Raphael Lessard made his mark today in front of family and fans at the wheel of the #07 Sociétés Louis Jacques | FRLExpress car prepared by Dumoulin Competition and the #46 Groupe BLU2 | AssurExperts Lessard & Associés | FRLExpress. Sixth on the NASCAR Pinty's grid, the young Beauceron took the lead on lap 137 and led the rest of the way to victory. Later in the day, Raphaël Lessard again made the podium with the Bilodeau Brothers NASCAR Super Late Model car crossing the finish line in third place. A double result greatly acclaimed by all who were there.

NASCAR Pinty's - #07 Sociétés Louis Jacques | FRL Express - Dumoulin Competition

Raphaël Lessard made his mark brilliantly on this track when he won his first victory ever here, at the age of 12.

“It's very special, it's kind of a dream come true. I never expected to win my first ever NASCAR Pinty's Series race here at home, a major event with all the great drivers who have been here over time. The guys at Dumoulin Competition gave me an awesome race car. It's hard to dominate like this with a one-race deal. It's your first time with the team, with the car and everything is new. I wasn't sure how the race would play out. In practice we were okay on new tires, but we needed a little more speed. And on old tires, we just kept being better and better. I had to pace myself to slow down. It was a lot of fun, I can't thank enough the Dumoulin Competition team for the awesome car, my partners Sociétés Louis Jacques and FRL Express, brothers Jean-Francois and Louis-Philippe Dumoulin, and everyone on the team” told us the driver of the Pinty's car #07 Sociétés Louis Jacques | FRL Express car.

NASCAR Late Model - #46 F LFR Logistiques|Groupe BLU2|AssurExperts Lessard & Associés|FRL Express - Bilodeau Brothers

Second on the starting grid, Raphaël Lessard was able to defend his position among the leaders and finish third on the podium.

“We went to get the most out of the car #46 BLU2 Group | AssurExperts Lessard & Associates | FRLExpress. We were a little short on power to take the win, but we are really happy with the result. Thank you to all my partners and the Bilodeau Brothers team,” added Raphaël Lessard.

NASCAR Pinty's

· Results: https://hometracks.nascar.com/international/pintys-series/race-center-nascar-pintys-series/

· The race will be broadcast on TSN on Saturday July 6 at 2 pm, and on RDS2 on Monday July 15 at 7 pm.

ABOUT RAPHAEL LESSARD

Born on July 5, 2001, in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Quebec, Canada, Raphael Lessard is one of the most promising prospects in North American oval racing. Raphael made his debut in stock-cars in 2013, on local tracks in the Quebec City area. His exceptional talent quickly allowed him to climb the ladder and attract the attention of David Gilliland, a former NASCAR MonsterEnergy Series driver and now a team owner, in 2015. An agreement then allowed Lessard to participate in the last four races of the season in the PASS North Tour Series; a Late Model series on paved ovals, at the wheel of a David Gilliland Racing team car.

In 2016, his first full-time season with Gilliland Racing, Lessard won the CARS Super Late Model Tour title with four wins, 8 top five and 9 top ten in his No. 99 Toyota Camry, and thus becoming the youngest Canadian driver to win a major stock car series title in the United States. Since 2016, Lessard has been part of the Toyota Racing Development (TRD) prestigious driver development program. To date, he is the only Canadian to have been recruited into this program.

Highlights

2018 - 16 races - Super Late Model with Kyle Busch Motorsports

· Two wins, seven top-5s and 13 top-10s

· Wins the U.S. Short Track Nationals race at Bristol Motor Speedway

· Wins the Red Bull 400 at Anderson Speedway

· Leads 60 laps at the famous Snowball Derby in December, before a mechanical problem puts him out of the race with only six (6) laps to go.

2017 - Competes in 20 Super Late Model races and two ARCA series races

· Two wins and eight top-5 finishes in the Super Late Model category

· A top-10 from two races in the ARCA series

· Voted the most popular driver in North America by Speed51.com

· Voted as one of the top 10 drivers to watch in 2017 by Speed51.com

· Named by Speed51.com Short Track Power Ranking as 7th best driver in the United States

2016 - Participates in 10 races

· CARS Super Late Model Series Champion

· Youngest Canadian driver to win a prestigious stock-car series in the United States

· Four wins, eight top-5s and nine top-10s in 10 races

ABOUT FRL EXPRESS Inc.

F.R.L. Express Inc. is a general transportation company founded in 2004 by François Lessard. Its main field of activity over the last 15 years is general transport in closed trailers over short and long distances in Canada and the United States. FRL currently have about 50 employees in addition to about ten tow carriers. FRL owners are proud of the progress made in recent years thanks to the FRL team members and wishes to continue on this positive note. “Our employees, customer service and satisfaction are our priorities. We are all proud to be partners in the success and achievements of our son Raphael Lessard,” state the proud parents.

ABOUT DUMOULIN COMPETITION

Jean-François and Louis-Philippe Dumoulin founded the Dumoulin Competition, a racing-service organization. Over the years, they have partnered with experts in finance, marketing, logistics and sports management to build a solid organizational structure. Their motto: "Passion - Performance - Partnership" expresses the will to perform on the track and to offer their partners maximum visibility and profitability in line with their involvement. Their vision: To become the leader in motorsports in Canada through track performance, entrepreneurial initiatives and human values.